An automatic method for extracting offshore platforms (AMEOP) was proposed.
Two strategies (time-series and multi-refinement) were designed in the AMEOP.
Three features (contextual, position- and size-invariance features) were incorporated.
The AMEOP was well applied to the Gulfs of Thailand, Persian, and northern Mexico.
The AMEOP was quantitatively assessed as objective, robust, and cost-effective.